Thirst, fear and hunger in Christ's holy sanctuary

It was the birthplace of Jesus Christ, but now it is a scene of war and suffering.

The siege by Israeli soldiers of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, built over the grotto where Jesus was born two thousand years ago, has entered its 12th day.

Inside are 200 Palestinians. Some are armed resistance fighters against Israeli attacks in the West Bank, but most are just Bethlehem residents who took refuge inside one of Christianity's holiest shrines to escape the gunfire.

The Palestinian governor of Bethlehem, Hamid Al-Madani, is also holed up in the church, along with the 45 priests and monks who normally live within the church compound.

Most of the refuge seekers are sleeping on the cold stone floor of the nave and sanctuary, according to the church's Franciscan parish priest, Father Amjad Sabbara.");document.write("

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"We have nowhere else for them to sleep," he explained during a telephone interview interrupted by frequent bursts of gunfire from Manger Square, where Israeli soldiers were training their guns on the church.

During the day, some of the Muslims have used small, sheltered sections of the roof for prayers while, below, the Franciscans - who normally wear brown, hooded cassocks - continue their daily Holy Communion.

The Franciscan order was founded by St Francis of Assisi, in his time felt by many to be God's special messenger of peace on Earth. But his words seem not to have reached those outside.

Father Sabbara said: "The problem for us, as Franciscans, is that we are trying to continue his message of peace when all this is happening.

"We are staying here and not going anywhere and if our sacrifice will do something for peace, we will do it."

By early Friday, those inside had exhausted their reserves of water. When the Israelis cut the electricity to the building on Monday, they also made it impossible to retrieve water from the deep well.

Another priest, Father Ibrahim, asked the local Israeli Army commander for permission to fetch water from the nearby Casa Nova hostel. He was refused.

Soon after the siege began on April2, the soldiers also halted all food supplies. For almost two weeks, those inside have survived on bread and vegetables, which are running low.

The situation is made worse by the presence of seven wounded people, and one slowly decaying corpse of a Palestinian policeman, inside the church.

On Wednesday, one of the clergy became the latest victim of the military assault when an Armenian monk was shot during an exchange of gunfire.

"The life of the religious community is increasingly at risk," Father Sabbara said in an e-mail to his Franciscan colleagues in Sydney.

Pope John Paul II has telephoned the Church of Nativity three times since the siege began and the Vatican is still trying to broker a deal that would allow those seeking refuge to leave. Father Sabbara said: "The Holy Father told us to stay in our place and keep trying to get a peaceful solution."

The Pope last visited the Church of the Nativity in March 2000, six months before this second intifada erupted.

The Israelis insist that, rather than being a haven for frightened Palestinians, the Christian shrine is a hide-out for gunmen of Hamas and the Al Aqsar Martyrs Brigade.

The Catholic Patriarch of the Holy Land, Bishop Michael Sabbah, a Palestinian, has been unable to breach army lines and visit his priests.

The gunfire has pock-marked the outside of the church and also damaged some priceless relics.

Shrapnel has blown away the nose on a statue of the Virgin Mary and bullet holes riddle the face of an angel on a tile mosaic.